The present invention relates generally to the vehicle accessory field and, more particularly, to a multiple accessory port assembly for a vehicle incorporating at least two accessory ports for receiving and holding any number of recreational and utilitarian accessories such as a bike rack, ski rack, cargo carrier or the like.
Vehicle accessories such as a bike rack, a ski rack, a snow board rack, a folding table, a work bench and a cargo carrier that may be conveniently secured to a vehicle when desired are increasing in popularity. Generally, these devices are secured directly to the vehicle bumper or through a trailer hitch receiver assembly carried by the vehicle. An example of the latter arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/194,502 filed Apr. 3, 2000, entitled xe2x80x9cTrailer Hitch Assembly With Towing Accessory Portsxe2x80x9d. The full disclosure of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/194,502 is incorporated herein by reference.
The direct mounting of a towing accessory to a vehicle bumper is no longer possible in many instances due to the bumper design on many of today""s vehicles. Even when possible, many consumers decide against such a mounting arrangement as it commonly results in unsightly and, thus, undesirable damage to the bumper. As a consequence, most consumers install a trailer hitch receiver assembly on their vehicle if they are going to utilize accessories of the nature discussed and then mount those accessories to their vehicle through that hitch receiver assembly.
Of course, many smaller vehicles in the market today are of insufficient size and power to support trailer towing. As such, trailer hitch receiver assemblies are not available for these vehicles. Thus, to date, no mounting arrangement of this nature is available for securing accessories of the nature described to these smaller vehicles even though these vehicles are large enough and powerful enough to transport these accessories and the equipment or materials they hold.
A need is therefore identified for a multiple accessory port assembly for securing to smaller vehicles. Such a device also has useful application on larger vehicles where the owner desires the convenience of an easy and aesthetically pleasing way to secure various accessories to a vehicle yet has no interest in trailer towing capability.
In accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, a multiple accessory port assembly for a vehicle is provided. The assembly includes a frame member, a mounting bracket carried on each end of the frame member for securing the frame member to the vehicle, and at least two accessory ports for receiving and holding one or more recreational and utilitarian accessories. Each of the accessory ports projects rearwardly from the frame member a distance D and includes a circular opening for receiving and holding at least one recreational and/or utilitarian accessory. Such a recreational and utilitarian accessory may include but is not limited to a bike rack, a ski rack or a cargo carrier.
More specifically describing the invention, each accessory port has a longitudinal axis extending in a plane A, the plane A defining an included angle of approximately 10-30xc2x0 and more specifically 20xc2x0 with the horizontal. As will be described in greater detail below, the relative orientation of the accessory ports with respect to the frame member and the vehicle to which the assembly is mounted insures ease of accessory alignment and mounting for the benefit and satisfaction of the user.
The present invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the modes best suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.